


Pass Around the Coffee and the Pumpkin Pie

by Butsinceimetyou



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:48:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28167267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butsinceimetyou/pseuds/Butsinceimetyou
Summary: anon on tumblr requested: Iris volunteers to cook Christmas dinner. Naturally it's a distaster. More of a humor fic---“Maybe we can just get take out this year,” Barry suggests with a shrug of his shoulders, “I don’t mind eating Big Belly Burger as long as I’m with family,” He tells Joe with a sympathetic smile before looking to Iris, expecting her to agree. However, going by the way she’s biting her lip in thought, she doesn’t.Joe smiles wryly, “No, no, I don’t want that,” He chuckles with a wave of his hand, “We always have a homemade meal for the holidays, and I don’t want that to change now. I just hope everyone is okay with eating at 11 pm.”"What if I made dinner?” Iris offers, nervously strumming her fingers on the side of her coffee mug. Admittedly, she has never been the best cook, but Christmas dinner was always based on Grandma Esther’s old recipes. She could follow a few instructions, right?
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	Pass Around the Coffee and the Pumpkin Pie

**Author's Note:**

> canon compliant; however, no specified time aside from Joe being police chief. the timeline is too confusing lol.

“I’m glad we were able to do this today,” Barry says, settling in a chair beside Iris and across from Joe at Jitters, “I feel like I haven’t seen you outside of work in forever, Joe.”

“Yeah, you’ve been really busy since the promotion, haven’t you, Dad?” Iris adds, stirring a few packets of sugar into her coffee before taking a small sip.

Across the table, Joe lets out a small sigh, giving them both a guilty smile, “I’m sorry about that. This chief thing has been a bit of an adjustment,” He says with a low chuckle, “Still trying to get my footing.”

“Don’t apologize,” Iris tells him, “We just hate seeing you so stressed,”

Joe nods, “My to-do list is never-ending—can’t seem to catch up. I don’t know how I’ll swing Christmas dinner this week,” Joe sighs, running a stressed hand over his face, “I still have to go buy all the ingredients, and then I need to go into the precinct at least in the morning that day, so who knows when I’ll actually get started on cooking,” He says with a shake of his head.

“Maybe we can just get take out this year,” Barry suggests with a shrug of his shoulders, “I don’t mind eating Big Belly Burger as long as I’m with family,” He tells Joe with a sympathetic smile before looking to Iris, expecting her to agree. However, going by the way she’s biting her lip in thought, she doesn’t.

Joe smiles wryly, “No, no, I don’t want that,” He chuckles with a wave of his hand, “We always have a homemade meal for the holidays, and I don’t want that to change now. I just hope everyone is okay with eating at 11 pm.”

"What if I made dinner?” Iris offers, nervously strumming her fingers on the side of her coffee mug. Admittedly, she has never been the best cook, but Christmas dinner was always based on Grandma Esther’s old recipes. She could follow a few instructions, right?

Going by their faces, Barry and Joe seem to think otherwise.

“You want to make dinner, Iris?” Joe asks, brows raised high in surprise.

“Why not? You’re busy, and things are going smoothly at the _Citizen_ so I have a little extra time,” She says with a shrug, “You have all of Grandma Esther’s recipes, right? I can pick them up today, and then we can host Christmas at our place, right?” She says, looking to Barry.

Barry, whose eyes are wide and confused, gapping at Iris’s every word, “Oh, uh, I mean, yeah. Of course, we can host Christmas, but…you really want to make dinner?”

“I think I can follow a few recipes, Barry,” She says with a playful roll of her eyes.

Barry’s quiet, taking a long sip from his coffee as he gives Joe a sideways glance.

“Oh, come on,” Iris says with a grin before finishing off her coffee and gathering up her purse. Standing from her seat, she gives her father and husband a serious look, “I’m going to make Christmas dinner, and it’s going to be perfect, all right? “

She’s about ready to head out, pausing to give both men one final pointed look, “Christmas Day at the loft at 6 pm,” She says confidently before leaning down to give each of the men a kiss on the cheek, “trust me,” she adds before leaving the coffee shop to get a jump start on grocery shopping.

* * *

Christmas Day starts off perfect. Barry brings Iris breakfast in bed and they laze around sipping on mimosas and exchanging kisses for a few hours before heading down the stairs to sit in front of the tree with afternoon mugs of hot cocoa.

They exchange gifts in their pajamas, Iris squealing as she opens up a beautiful heart-shaped ruby necklace and a maroon knit sweater to match, and Barry melts as he slips on the new watch Iris got for him, his initials engraved on the back.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” Iris smiles, humming contentedly as Barry leans in for a kiss, but she cuts it off after a moment to jump up with a smile, holding out a hand, “Now, come on, I’ve got a roast to make.”

* * *

“Sure you don’t need any help, babe?” Barry asks for probably the fourth time in the last hour. From the kitchen, Iris whirls around with a tight smile.

“As I said before, I’ve got it, Barry, I have everything under control,” Iris sighs, raising an unimpressed brow at her husband. Behind her the pot of boiling noodles boils up, up, up, until it starts to spill over, water sizzling on the stovetop and smoke wafting into the air.

Barry bites his lip as Iris turns back to the stove, a curse of, “Dammit, not again,” slipping from her lips as she grabs the pot handle to lift it off the heat, “I guess we won’t be having Grandma Ester’s noodles with dinner,” She sighs, dropping the pot on an unused burner.

With a quiet sigh, Barry puts on his best smile, stepping up behind Iris to wrap his arms around her waist. He leans down and hooks his chin over her shoulder, pressing a small kiss to her neck, “It just boiled over. Put it back on the heat, just turn it down a little,” He hums, “How about I get started on the rolls while you make that and the potatoes, hmm?”

Iris takes a deep breath, relaxing under Barry’s touch and giving him a small nod, “Okay, yeah, I guess some help would be nice,” She smiles, dropping her oven mitts on the counter and turning in his arms to lean up for a kiss, “I think I might have bitten off more than I could chew when I offered to make dinner,” She groans, dropping her head to Barry’s chest.

Laughing softly, Barry shakes his head, smiling brightly at his wife as she lifts her head, “You, Iris West-Allen, can do anything you put your mind to. I’ll help, and we’ll have everything ready before everyone comes over at six. I promise.”

* * *

“Oh, no!” Iris exclaims as soon as Barry zooms back into the loft, grocery bag in hand.

Only a few minutes before, Iris realized she didn’t have the right breadcrumbs for the green bean casserole, and now—

“What’s wrong?” He asks hurrying into the kitchen and setting the breadcrumbs on the counter.

Biting her lip, Iris turns to him, “I didn’t buy the whipped topping we need for the pumpkin pie. Dad doesn’t like it without it,” she sighs, “Could you—”

“On it,” Barry grins, disappearing in a ball of lightning. With the self-check-out counter, he’s back in less than a minute, “Anything else we need?”

Iris smiles, “I think that’s everything. I just need to add the breadcrumbs and put them in the oven, as well as the pie, but that all has to wait until the roast is done, so still an hour or so.”

Barry smiles at that, shuffling across the room until he’s just a few inches away from his wife. Iris’s apron (and some of her shirt underneath) is covered in various dustings of ingredients, and there’s a slight spec of flour in her hair. Barry can’t help but smile as he slips his arms around her.

“What’s got you all smiley, Allen?” She teases, lifting one arm to wrap around his neck.

Barry hums, shaking his head, “Just amazed at how lucky I am, as usual.”

“Hmm, and don’t you forget it,” She grins, giving him a quick kiss before pulling out of the embrace and giving herself a once over. Iris grimaces, “I’m gonna finish getting the pie ready for the oven and then I’ll head upstairs and change clothes, I think.”

“Sounds like a plan, chef, “ Barry grins, reaching out to brush the flour out of her hair.

Iris chuckles, “I might shower, too.”

* * *

Shortly before six, the entire meal is ready and Iris is dressed in her new sweater and necklace, paired with her favorite skirt and heels.

Waiting for everyone to show up is a nerve-wracking process (it is her first time hosting Christmas dinner, after all) but soon enough the whole gang is finally there—Joe, Cecile, Wally, and everyone from Star Labs and the _Central City Citizen_ —squeezed around Barry and Iris’s dining room table with a delicious looking spread covering the table in front of them.

“Iris, baby, you’ve outdone yourself,” Joe smiles, giving his daughter’s hand a squeeze, “This all looks amazing.”

Iris beams and the rest of the room parrot Joe’s sentiment before piling up their plates with food. Everyone cheers to a Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas before they dig in, scooping their forks into food as Iris watches with nervous eyes.

She waits patiently, hands clasped in her lap, to see everyone’s reactions to her first Christmas dinner, but then at just one bite the entire room freezes, and Iris can’t help but be devastated.

She waits for them to say that the roast is too dry or the green beans are undercooked, that the noodles are too starchy or the mashed potatoes are too thick, but instead they stay quiet, everyone watching her with curious eyes.

“Of course,” Iris says, throwing up her hands in defeat, “it’s disgusting, right?” She sighs, biting her lip as she looks down at her own plate of food that is yet to be touched. Iris rarely cries but there’s a heavyweight building up in her chest, a tell-tale sign that waterworks are imminent.

Wally jumps in saying, “No way, the rolls are delicious, sis,” but that doesn’t help as Iris crosses her arms and scowls.

“Barry made the rolls,” She groans, standing from the table, ready to run away and forget about this disaster of a Christmas, but with a quick zip, Barry is out of his seat, stopping her before she can get far.

“Hey, hey, where are you going?” He asks, eyes wide with concern.

“I messed it all up, just like everyone thought I would.”

“Honey, you didn’t mess anything up,” Cecile says from her seat, and Iris turns back to the table to find everyone frowning.

“Yeah, this is delicious, Iris,” Adds Cisco who starts shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth at a rapid pace.

“We were all just a little stunned because, uh,” Barry starts, running a nervous hand through his hair, and giving Iris a lopsided smile, “Well, babe, you know you’re not usually the best cook, and, uh, this meal is honestly amazing.”

Iris pauses, raising a brow at her husband before looking at all of their family and friends who are now smiling and nodding as they continue to eat their dinner.

“Wait, really?” She asks, not quite believing them.

“Really, baby girl. Now sit down and try some of this wonderful food you made so we can hurry on up and get to that pumpkin pie I was promised,” Joe says, giving his daughter a big grin before biting into a mouthful of the roast.

A bit stunned, Iris settles back into her seat, and Barry does the same beside her, pressing a comforting hand on her knee and giving her a quick kiss to the cheek, “Thank you for dinner, baby, and Merry Christmas.”

And she gives him a small smile before taking a bite of the food herself, smiling wide when she finds that no one had lied.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i'm over at glitzgustin on tumblr if you want to send in prompts, cry over westallen, or simply say hey <3


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